


The Rule

by secretsofthesky



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Neighbors, Secret Relationship, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:01:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23739505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretsofthesky/pseuds/secretsofthesky
Summary: “That is true,” Jughead’s voice lowered, his body pressing hard against hers, lips moving to her ear. “But out of all the things I love to eat, you’re my favorite.”
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 14
Kudos: 118





	The Rule

“I had my doubts, but this is actually really nice.”

Betty took a sip of her wine before glancing over to where Veronica was sitting. She nodded, a small smile curving her lips. “It really is.”

“Palentine’s Day.” Archie grinned. “We should do this every year,” he suggested before stuffing a slice of garlic bread into his mouth.

Veronica chuckled, shooting him a look. “I wouldn’t go that far. It just worked out this year since none of us are romantically involved with anyone. Who knows what we’ll be doing next year. Or _who_ we’ll be doing.”

Betty pretended as if she didn’t see the way her best friend’s dark eyes raked over the ginger sitting across from her at the table. The ginger who had been the object of the brunette’s desire from the second he and his best friend moved into the apartment across the hall six months ago.

A day she remembered vividly. She’d been curiously watching through the peephole, shamelessly taking in glimpses of the two very fit men carrying up box after box into their new apartment as she sipped her morning coffee.

Then Veronica had woken up, caught her, and pushed her aside to whip the door open without a second thought so that they could gawk openly. Her roommate and best friend had only been in a very small silk bathrobe at the time, but she still walked out into the hall and introduced herself and Betty to their new neighbors.

* * *

_“Please tell me you boys aren’t just working for a moving company and that you’re the new tenants.”_

_The redheaded man raised an arm, wiping sweat from his brow before answering, his eyes raking over Veronica as a grin spread across his face. “And if we_ are _just the movers?”_

_Veronica smirked, crossing her arms and drawing his eyes to exactly the place she wanted them. “Well, it would be a shame,” she drawled. “But then I may be in need of hiring a buff man such as yourself to move things around…_ in my bedroom _.”_

_Ever the subtle one, Betty felt the secondhand embarrassment and cringed into her coffee._

_A curse floated out from behind the man who Veronica had staked claim on and Betty’s eyes found him over the rim of her cup as he made his way back into the hall. He wasn’t shirtless like his friend, and nowhere near as buff, but he filled out the white tank top he was wearing perfectly and Betty had to tear her eyes away when he lifted a hand to pat his friend on the back - to which he quickly seemed to regret as he wiped it off on his jeans with a mumbled curse._

_“Jesus Archie, are you sweating baby oil?”_

_Archie chuckled, bringing a hand up to the back of his neck as he continued grinning at Veronica. “Sunblock. Fair skin and all.”_

_Veronica took his comment as an invitation to let her eyes roam over every bare inch of the fair skin he was showing as if to verify his statement._

_Betty’s eyes found the darker haired man as he cursed again. “Dude, did you forget already?”_

_Archie’s cheeks tinged red as he brought a hand up to scratch at his head. “Oh, yeah. The rule.”_

_Veronica tipped her head to the side, offering the other man the briefest of glances before training her eyes on Archie again. “And what rule is this?”_

_“No dating where we live,” his friend offered and Betty held back a chuckle when Archie cringed._

_Veronica’s lips parted, her eyes narrowing. “Are you joking?”_

_“No, I’m dead serious.” the other man replied. “Our last apartment was great. Amazing acoustics for him, a big window looking out over the water for my desk. Quiet. Cheap. Convenient. Until this guy decided to hook up with the girl down the hall and it all went to hell.”_

_Archie chuckled, though the sound was more pained than amused. “It did get pretty bad.”_

_His friend snorted. “Understatement of the century. Hence why we had to cut our lease short, pay a fee for doing so–” his narrow eyes darted to Archie who was cringing again “–and are now here.”_

_“Sorry,” Archie shrugged. “I’m Archie, as you probably now know, and this is Jughead.”_

_Betty’s eyes –which had only just strayed from the man she now knew was named Jughead– found him again._

_“Well, I’m Veronica,” she held a hand out and winked when Archie shook it. “And I’ll be honest with you, this rule sounds like a challenge and I am very competitive.”_

_Betty couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped her then at Archie’s face. She didn’t think she’d ever seen someone look so torn before._

_Her laugh though had another pair of eyes finally landing on her where she stood half hiding behind the door._

_“And this is my roommate, Betty.”_

_She meant to say Hi, nice to meet you, anything. But the second his blue eyes connected with hers, she forgot how to speak altogether._

_She’d been attracted to men before, but this was different. It was something beyond that. When their eyes met, it was like every second of her life had been leading up to that very moment._

_And when the word “fuck” fell from his lips in a whisper as if he hadn’t meant to say it aloud, she knew she wasn’t the only one who was feeling that way._

_“What?” Veronica’s voice had Betty breaking eye contact and turning to her friend. She lifted her coffee cup, drinking quickly to soothe her suddenly dry throat and then cursed when the hot liquid singed her tongue._

_“Are those cinnamon buns I smell?” Archie, oblivious to the electricity sparking between Jughead and Betty asked, his eyes moving past the girls and further into their apartment._

_Veronica grinned, immediately forgetting everyone but Archie again. “It is. Feel free to come over anytime for something sweet,” she offered suggestively and Betty would have rolled her eyes if she wasn’t so focused on trying to control her erratic heartbeat because of the two stormy eyes still watching her._

_“You bake?”_

_Veronica laughed. “Nothing edible. Betty is an amazing cook though.”_

_“Fuck me.” Her eyes lifted to Jughead’s again at the whisper and saw the turmoil on his face._

_He jerked when Archie smacked his back. “Rule number one, Jug,” was all he said before turning to wink at Veronica and head back down the hall towards the stairs._

_Betty watched as Jughead swallowed, lifting his face to the ceiling and muttering something under his breath, before lowering it again and tipping his head to Veronica. “It was nice to meet you, Veronica.” he said, and then his eyes were on hers again, liquid fire swirling in their depths. When he spoke her name, his voice was lower than it had been just a second before, “You as well, Betty.”_

_Just hearing her name from his lips had her toes curling in her slippers._

_“You too, Jughead,” She managed to find her voice and watched as he shook his head, his chest shaking with laughter as he disappeared the same way Archie had. Though not before she heard one last curse._

* * *

And that had been the start of a very interesting six months. They’d all become quick friends, most of their time spent together in one of their two apartments. Of course, Veronica took every available moment to flirt with Archie, but much to her dismay, he had kept his promise to his roommate not to muddle up their living situation again, even though Betty was sure he hadn’t taken a hot shower since moving in. Veronica was relentless and Betty had recently started to wonder if it was still a game or if real feelings had blossomed between the two.

“What’s for dessert?” Archie asked through a mouthful of bread.

Veronica leaned forward, “That’s entirely up to you, Archiekins.”

Betty chuckled, standing from the table and walking to the kitchen counter to set her plate in the sink as the two began their flirtatious banter back and forth.

“So what _is_ for dessert?”

Betty smiled, turning to glance at Jughead who had followed her out. “I made cherry cheesecake.”

He groaned, closing his eyes as if in ecstasy. “I love cheesecake.”

Betty laughed, turning to the sink to rinse off her dish. “You love all food.”

She felt him come up behind her and her eyes quickly darted to the table where their friends still sat, relieved when she realized they were too busy paying attention to each other to notice anything else.

“That is true,” Jughead’s voice lowered, his body pressing hard against hers, lips moving to her ear. “But out of all the things I love to eat, _you’re_ my favorite.”

She was surprised she didn’t melt to a puddle right there and then.

“Is that so?”

He nipped at her ear, and she wanted to close her eyes and press back into him, but her eyes remained focused on their friends. Any second they could look over and see what was happening. A single glance and their cover would be blown.

And it only turned her on more.

“You know this counter is pretty high. I could drop down to my knees and show you just how serious I am right now. Just pretend you’re on the phone and they won’t come out and bother us.”

Betty drew in a shaky breath, “They’re not even fifteen feet away from us.”

Jughead chuckled, his hands moving to her thighs and under her skirt. “You’re right. You’ll have to be quiet. Think you can be quiet when my face is between your legs, baby?”

The fact that she was tempted to see just that was proof that they had clearly lost their minds.

They couldn’t… _could they_?

Before she could say yes, Archie was standing up and Jughead was away from her in an instant, the material of her skirt ticking her thighs as it fell back into place. 

“Alright, I’m ready for some dessert, anyone else?”

“You have no fucking idea,” Jughead replied, though only Betty heard.

Betty sent Archie her best smile as she handed him the cheesecake. “I’ll grab plates and forks,” she told him before he turned to head back to the table where Veronica was now posing for selfies.

“I’m going out for a smoke,” Jughead called to the table and Archie replied with a comment about how it meant more cheesecake for him but Betty barely heard over the pounding of her heart as Jughead’s lips found her ear again. “Make an excuse and meet me on the roof in five minutes.”

Her lips formed a sly smile as she glanced at him over her shoulder. “And if I don’t?”

He chuckled, the vibration causing his body to rub against her own teasingly. “If you don’t, I’m going to come back down here, throw you onto the counter and eat your pussy until not only our friends hear you screaming, but the whole fucking building does.”

And with that he left, leaving her to grip the counter for support as her knees threatened to give out.

Yeah, Archie had definitely stuck to the rule of no canoodling where they lived.

Jughead though? Well, he and Betty had broken it before the end of the first month.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr @secretsofthesky


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